Advertisement

"I think it absolutely is -- however big that audience is, and whoever they are," says Becker, 58, who met Steely Dan partner Donald Fagen in 1967 at Bard College in upstate New York and formed the band four years later.

"I think there probably are Steely Dan fans who, if it's not Donald singing, it's not Steely Dan -- and I think that's a perfectly valid way to feel about it. So I don't exactly know who it will appeal to, and on what basis. But it sounds good to me, and it was fun to make it."

Produced by Joni Mitchell's ex-husband Larry Klein and featuring a pronounced dub reggae flavor, "Circus Money" follows Becker's first solo outing, 1994's "11 Tracks of Whack." But while he performed some of its songs at Steely Dan's shows that year, Becker says he's leaving "Circus Money" out of the performances on the group's current Think Fast Tour.

"I don't want to impose this on people," he explains. "My experience has been that fans are there because they want to hear Steely Dan songs. It's much harder to do new material in venues like the ones we play, so by and large it's immensely more satisfying for people to hear songs they know."

As for new Steely Dan material, Becker says it's best for everyone not to hold their breath waiting for it.

"At this point we don't have a (record company) deal and we haven't really talked too much about it," he says, "so I don't think there's any real plan in place. I figure it's something we can do at any time we want to, and if it's ever to happen it'll be in some sort of organic way.

"And at this point I think the touring thing is better for us in a way. It feels better for me to go out and tour and play those songs than to be cooped up indefinitely in a studio. That's just the way I feel right now."

Steely Dan and the Joey DeFrancesco Trio perform at 7:30 tonight at the DTE Energy Music Theatre. Tickets are $85 and $55 pavilion, $20 lawn. Call (248) 377-0100 or visit www.palacenet.com.

Country singer Josh Turner says that his strategy is that "every day, I just look at how can I improve upon what I've done already?"

So it's certainly of some concern to Turner that his third album, 2007's "Everything Is Fine," while comfortably at gold has not matched the platinum-or-better status of its predecessors. But as he releases the album's next single, its title track, he's hardly ready to give up on the record.

"You know, right now not a whole lot of people are selling records, period," says Turner, 30, who hails from South Carolina and studied classical singing at Nashville's Belmont University before focusing on country music. "I know a lot of what's come into that is the economy, the Internet ... all sorts of stuff.

"But I'm very proud of this record, and I don't think it's done. I feel like I have at least one or two more singles, still a long way to go. I feel like I've done my best, and I feel like we can have a big platinum or double-platinum record. I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping I'm right."

While he keeps working on "Everything is Fine," Turner is also getting ready for the October release of "Billy: The Early Years," a film about evangelist Billy Graham's start in which Turner plays Graham's music director, George Beverly Shea. Turner, who did his early singing in the Baptist church and attended several Graham crusades, says he "didn't really know what to expect" from the movie but was pleased that he got to pay some homage to a couple of his heroes.

"A lot of people don't know who George Beverly Shea is, and I'm always kind of surprised by that," Turner says. "He and (Graham) obviously touched my life and I've always been familiar with what they've done, what they've been about. So when this part was offered to me, I said yes right off the bat, absolutely. There was no thinking about it. It was a great opportunity to honor their legacy."

Josh Turner and the Lost Trailers perform at 8 tonight at the Meadow Brook Music Festival on the campus of Oakland University, Rochester Hills. Tickets are $39.50 pavilion, $15 lawn. Call (248) 377-0100 or visit www.palacenet.com.

After 41 years, frontman Eric Bloom and guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser are the only founding members remaining in Blue …yster Cult. And Bloom considers it "a loaded question" when asked if he misses any of the others who started out with him as Soft White Underbelly at SUNY-Stony Brook.

"I'm gonna be politically correct," Bloom, 63, says, "and say the current Blue …yster Cult is the best it's ever been and we're very happy with the current personnel and doing great. We're playing somewhere between 80 to 100 shows a year -- and still smiling, which is great."

Like many veteran bands, in fact, BOC has gotten a boost from video games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band, which have given new life to BOC's '70s hits such as "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" and "Godzilla." So even though BOC hasn't released any new music in seven years, Bloom says the group is certainly seeing evidence of a new audience.

"We do have a rabid core; there's no doubt about that," he explains. "Then there's a lot of young people who I meet at shows, on the way out of the building, who are waiting for autographs. They're teenagers who really never had a chance to see bands like us. They have Guitar Hero or they heard about us or maybe saw a video on VH1 Classic or something that got them interested

"I'm meeting more and more of those kids these days, young people who are saying 'This is my first show, seeing you guys.' I really like that."

Blue …yster Cult performs at the 2008 Rockin' on the Riverfront concert series at 8 tonight on the RiverWalk behind the GM Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit. Admission is free. Call (313) 567-3126 or visit www.gmrencen.com.

Chris Isaak became a sex symbol 17 years ago, thanks to his languid and sensual hit "Wicked Game" and the accompanying black-and-white video by the late Herb Ritts.

Isaak, however, says he's never quite embraced that image.

"Y'know, it always makes me happy, to be honest, that anybody thinks that I was a 'sex symbol' or handsome or anything like that, because I never got any of that impression of me when I grew up," says Isaak, 52, who hails from Stockton, Calif. "I have two older brothers who are both better looking, and my nose has been broken about seven times in the boxing ring. I never had any particularly inkling that anybody was gonna say, 'Oh, you're nice looking ...'

"So it was a nice compliment, but I'm realistic. I don't take it too seriously, 'cause in real life I'm not noticing anybody turning their head looking at me."

Isaak hopes to have people listening to him soon, and not just at his shows. He hasn't released a full set of new music since 2002's "Always Got Tonight," though there's fresh material on 2004's "Christmas" and 2006's "The Best of Chris Isaak." He's been writing and recording, but he won't yet hazard a guess as to when we'll hear something.

"I'm a bad judge of my own stuff, saying what it sounds like, 'cause it all sounds like me to me," says Isaak, who also has a full resume of acting credits that includes three seasons of "The Chris Isaak Show" that ran on Showtime from 2001-2004.

"The only way I've had any kind of inkling that I even have a sound is other people say it. I just put 'em together the way I like 'em and don't worry about it, really."

Chris Isaak and James Hunter perform at 8 p.m. Sunday at the Meadow Brook Music Festival on the campus of Oakland University, Rochester Hills. Tickets are 437.50 pavilion, $15 lawn. Call (248) 377-0100 or visit www.palacenet.com.

Having left, and effectively ended, Toto earlier this year, Steve Lukather isn't wasting any time on the next phase of his career.

"I'm a workaholic, what can I say?" the 50-year-old guitarist, the only constant in Toto's 31-year history, says with a laugh. "Whenever the band was off, some guys would go off, take a vacation, and I'd be in the studio -- much to my wife's chagrin.

"I just love my job. It's a drag to be away from home, but these guys that say, 'I hate the road, I can't do it, blah, blah, blah ...' Well, then don't do it. I love it. I was built for this life."

Lukather actually has a little bit of home with him on his fifth solo album, "Ever Changing Times," which came out in February. He co-wrote two of the songs with his son, Trevor, who also plays and sings on the album, while his daughter Tina provides some backing vocals.

"Trev is really talented, man," says Lukather, who also has an infant at home in California. "He's gonna go far. He'll have a record out next year. And my daughter's, like, a normal person. She has a regular job but she's happy and grooving and healthy. I got the best of all worlds, y'know? I'm truly grateful."

Steve Lukather performs Thursday at the Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale. Doors open at 8 p.m. Admission is $25. Call (248) 544-1991 or visit www.themagicbag.com.

The title of Habitat For Humanity's Music Builds Tour is no misnomer.

The four faith-based rock groups -- Switchfoot, Third Day, Robert Randolph & the Family Band and Jars of Clay -- are using the tour to raise money for the charity, which builds homes in needy areas. And in select markets, the musicians will take tools in hand to participate in actual builds taking place in tour stop areas -- though next week's kick-off show at the DTE Energy Music Theatre is not one of them.

"The last tour that we did, two years ago, supported Habitat and that was probably one of my favorite moments," says Switchfoot singer Jon Foreman. "It was great to talk to the folks we were supporting and then go and actually put siding on the house, lay tile, that sort of thing.

"It adds a lot to what you're doing at night (at the concerts). We've had a lot of folks on our team that have raised their eyebrows at us going out to a build site and operate machinery. But I feel that to talk about it and not actually put your money where your mouth is would be a much greater evil."

The Music Builds Tour has an extra resonance for Switchfoot, which recently left its major label deal and plans to release its a new album on its own label in 2009 after putting out a greatest hits set in the fall -- which will include "This is Home," Switchfoot's contribution to the soundtrack of "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian."

The group has never denied the Christian roots of its music, but it's seldom put them out front. But that's changing on this tour.

"We thought a lot about it before we signed up for this," acknowledges Foreman, 31, who released a series of seasonal-themed EPs this year. "I guess we came to the conclusion that the cause was greater than anything we would lose, and at some point you just have to let close-minded people be close-minded people and just be yourself.

"We've come to the point in our career where we know who we are, and if some people don't understand it I'm totally OK with that. I get really cynical and skeptical whenever I see faith being used to sell something, but the fact is many of our songs are coming from a spiritual place, and hopefully this tour can illuminate what we're all about a little bit more."

The Music Builds Tour, featuring Switchfoot, Third Day, Robert Randolph & the Family Band and Jars of Clay, plays at 6 p.m. Thursday at the DTE Energy Music Theatre, Sashabaw Road east of I-75, Independence Township. Tickets are $30-$65 pavilion, $25 lawn with a $75 lawn four-pack. Call (248) 377-0100 or visit www.palacenet.com.

Gary Graff writes about music for The Oakland Press. His articles also appear on www.goanddomichigan.com, while his Classic Rock Insider reports appear at www.wcsx.com.